Worried about age discrimination? Job career expert and award-winning author Andrew LaCivita as he discusses age discrimination: how to overcome it in a job interview!

40's, 50's, 60's…

For all you folks in your 40's, 50's, 60's who email me and call me every day frantic you're part of the over the hill crowd…Don't worry!

As someone who does this every day of my life and has consulted to more than 200 companies during my career, I want to share ageism or age discrimination is more rare than you think.

Don’t get me wrong. When you’re in that job interview, you need to be able to justify your higher wages. But, in the job interview, compensation is really not the issue.

There are three mental hurdles, barriers, biases, or whatever you want to call them that are typically present in those interviewers. Let’s review those and I’ll teach you how to overcome them.

The biases…

The interviewer is more likely thinking your skills are stale or you're set in your ways or you don't want to learn anything new. These biases are much more prevalent obstacles for you.

The 3 tactics because all good things come in 3s…

You can overcome those biases with your energy, currency, and attitude.

Your vibrancy: Emit a thousand watts.

When you walk in the (interview) room, you need to be emitting positive, good energy. You are a light bulb! Emit those thousand watts.

Anyone sitting in that room, when you’re done with them, should want to race out and go conquer the world.

For some of you more low key types, you might need to do some jumping jacks before you get in the room. Do whatever you need to do to get that energy going. Smile. Smile for real. Just make sure you're bringing it.

Your responses to their job interview questions: Be current.

When responding to their questions, your examples and experience needs to be current—as in the techniques and tools you use. Use examples that are current.

If your processes or techniques or tactics are outdated or stale, you’re in trouble. If you’re not current, get current. Start researching and studying up on the latest and greatest.

Your awesome attitude: Be overt and share your interest in learning new techniques.

Make sure you outwardly express your interest and excitement for learning new stuff. You crave new tactics, new methods, and want to be on the current edge.

Attendees get a sweet, FREE eBook How to Interview the Employer: 75 Great Questions to Ask Before You Take Any Job. Don’t miss it!

Like this episode? Please share it via social media and review it on iTunes! I can keep this blog and all future podcasts and videos ad-free and sponsor-free ONLY because you share my work! Please share or subscribe to my podcast and YouTube channel too!

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Do you have fabulous senior-level credentials, but you're not getting the job offer? Join career expert and award-winning author Andrew LaCivita as he discusses executive job interview tips: 3 keys to getting a senior role!

This puts you at zero…

What's happening when you're job interviewing? You exchange information. You need to have the right responses to the employer’s questions. You need to ask good questions. You need the right background. You need to impress.

When you're a junior- or mid-level resource, that’s typically good enough to get hired. When you're at the senior level, it’s not.

The 3 big keys…

It’s about their future, not your past.

You need to get the interviewers, the most senior interviewers, thinking into the future. If you can't get them to imagine what their life will be like and what their company will look like with you there, you'll never get hired.

You can have a great background. You could have been there, done that. That's great. But, if you can't shift their mindset from thinking you’re serviceable to thinking how you’ll catapult them forward, you’re not going to get hired.

How?

One of the easiest ways to shift their thinking is to shift the discussion from your background and your credentials to their goals. Boom.

Where do they see the company going? What exactly do they want to accomplish?

Once you know this, articulate exactly how you will take them there—step by step. Here’s what I would do first. Here’s what I would do second.

Leaders are inclusive and inspiring.

You need to be the high tide that lifts all the boats. Leaders build more leaders. They don't build more followers.

You need to show them you're great at inspiring and inclusive. You're great at building teams.

They're probably going to ask you how you’ll build your team. That’s fine. But, I'm talking about giving them that deep, great feeling that having you there will inspire everyone and you're a great person to work with.

How?

First, think about your job interviewing process. Most of these senior-level interviewing processes start with senior people up front (because they don't want to waste anybody's time).

Then you have a middle part, which includes several other people. You’ll interview with colleagues, internal customers, some staff, and so on.

Toward the end, you’ll revisit (or visit for the first time) with a number of the senior folks.

Along the way, you'll be gathering a lot of information as you speak to lots of people.

One of the easiest and most effective ways to show you’re inclusive is to make several references to the other people and the insight they shared!

For example, “Hey, Mary Jane said something about this... It really struck me. I love that idea. Mr. Executive Man, I'd love to get your perspective on that especially as it relates to [insert something else here which better be a more grand something else for a deeper level of insight].”

If you can include a number of references to other people in the organization and the great conversations you've had with them, the senior interviewers will start to see you as part of the team (already). It’s like you’re already working there!

This also reinforces key number one and gets them to look into the future regarding how you’ll be to work with.

Stay away from one-and-done questions because then you’ll be done.

You’ll obviously be given a chance throughout the process to ask lots of questions. In addition to asking great questions, you need to avoid asking questions—however awesome they are—that lead to dead ends. If you ask dead end questions, you’ll be a dead end.

Specifically, I mean asking a great question, then receiving their response, and then moving on to the next question. That's the big mistake!

The message you're sending to them is that you are a puddle skipper. You are not somebody who's digging deep to get information and collecting it all. You're not well researched. You’re not digging deep enough to get the information you need to make a good decision. Ouch.

Now, they're starting to imagine how you would be as a leader there. Working with the people in your group or other units and not digging deep enough.

How?

If you have follow-up questions and drill down in your line of questioning, you send the message you are well researched, thoughtful, and making sure you're getting all the information you need to make a good decision.

It sends them the message when you're working with your staff, you will make sure you're getting all the information to make good decisions.

That is something they’ll want so when they give you the autonomy to run your unit or run your division they have confidence you'll be a great researcher, you’ll get all the information, and make well-educated decisions.

If you don’t do this, they’ll think you’re someone who skims the surface and oftentimes makes great mistakes or bad choices because you didn't have all the information.

Attendees get a sweet, FREE eBook How to Interview the Employer: 75 Great Questions to Ask Before You Take Any Job. Don’t miss it!Like this episode? Please share it via social media and review it on iTunes! I can keep this blog and all future podcasts and videos ad-free and sponsor-free ONLY because you share my work! Please share or subscribe to my podcast and YouTube channel too!

Want more advanced material? Join the milewalk Academy and grab some of the free offerings that support the instruction in this post

Not sure how to answer the most ridiculous job interview question ever? Join career expert and award-winning author Andrew LaCivita as he shares the do's and don'ts in how to answer the greatest weakness question!

It’s a winner…not.

Sure. It wins the dumbest question ever. This question is probably the absolute worst job interview question an employer can ask.

The problem is, for some unknown reason, employers keep asking it. I don't know why. It does nothing to help them predict whether you’ll be a good employee.

I can't control what the employers ask you. You can't control them either. But, I can help you prepare the best to answers to this ludicrous question and you can control your response.

Do not—I repeat—DO NOT under any circumstance actually provide them a with a weakness. Never cite something you’re actually bad at. As in N-E-V-E-R.

If they're going to ask you this silly question, you don't need to justify it with an actual weakness.

Do not, and this might be contrary to what you’ve heard from other so-called experts, trainers, columnists or whoever, never provide them with a “strength!”

It's insulting enough they've asked you this question. Don’t compound the problem by insulting them back with, oh I don’t know, something like you’re too detail-oriented, too conscientious, work too much, work too hard, or do everything yourself because you don't know how to delegate.

How idiotic do you think these people are? Oh. Wait. They asked this question in the first place. Well, be above that.

Do not use negative words such as “I’m bad at this” or “I’m not good at that” and so on.

Do this instead…

The best way to handle this question, so that you're actually answering it and they view you as giving it the college try, is to cite something you’ve yet to have the opportunity to do.

Say something such as, “One of my areas for improvement is [insert whatever here]. I’ve yet to have the opportunity to perform this function, work in this industry, study these things., etc.”

They likely won’t penalize you for not having this experience, especially if it’s not germane to the job function.

Then make sure to…

At the end of your statement, make sure to add what you’ve done and are doing to gain experience in that area.

…Even though I don’t have practical experience in that area, I’ve read [these] books, watched [these] videos, taken [these] training classed, and so on.”

Attendees get a sweet, FREE eBook How to Interview the Employer: 75 Great Questions to Ask Before You Take Any Job. Don’t miss it!

Like this episode? Please share it via social media and review it on iTunes! I can keep this blog and all future podcasts and videos ad-free and sponsor-free ONLY because you share my work! Please share or subscribe to my podcast and YouTube channel too!

Want more advanced material? Join the milewalk Academy and grab some of the free offerings that support the instruction in this post!

Struggling with what to ask the employer during a job interview? Not sure of the best way to get the information you need to make a great career decision and sell yourself in the process? Join career expert and award-winning author Andrew LaCivita as he shares his top 5 questions to ask in a job interview!

I get it…

It's difficult. You don't job interview very often. You're not (likely) a trained interrogator. That’s why you have me!

I’ll give you 5 home runs…

In the video, I’m going to share my five home runs, what to ask, why it's a great question, and how to use the information. Let’s roll…

A company-based one first…

Based on the direction of the company, what do you think will be your greatest accomplishments in the next three years?

Organizations need to be able to think at least three to five years into the future. But, you don't want to join an organization that only thinks about the future. Thinking is nice, but companies that act and build things and have clarity around specifically what they're going to do are worthy of you. Join them.

It's a great question because it helps you understand whether they have a vision and if they have clarity regarding specifically what they want to build.

If they don’t have that clarity, they’re basically saying to you, “I don't know if you'll have a job in three years because I don't know where the company's going.” Nice. Huh?

Make sure to ask this question early in the process.

Questions two, three, and four are about you and your role…

What are the qualities of people who are most successful in this position?

You're looking for the traits the employer wants. The reason it’s a great question is you’ll get the actual traits they’re evaluating and you can use that insight immediately to highlight how you and your background and experience match those traits! Plus, it’s a great setup question for the next one.

If you were to give me an offer and I was to accept it, one year from now, what will I have done specifically that you would consider this hire to be a raging success?

Now you’re really accelerating! The reason this question is pure gold is it gets the interviewer to provide specifics about the expectations and what the company considers valuable.

It gives you clarity to make sure you could actually achieve those objectives. And, it gives you ammunition to use within that interview or subsequent interviews to talk about exactly how you’ll accomplish what they consider a success.

You now know their (year-end) goal is. Get them to envision you completing it for them.

Boom. This one wins the interview even though you’re not done yet. Let’s pile on a bit…

If you were to give me an offer and I was to accept it, within one week of starting this job, what will be my biggest surprise?

This is a little safety net for you. You want to make sure you're uncovering information you might not have uncovered with the questions you've designed.

It gets the interviewer thinking hmmm, what might this person not ask in the job interview I could share or what surprised me when I first started with the company?

Naturally, the interviewer’s inclination will be to provide you a negative surprise. That’s just (unfortunately) the way most people think.

It puts the interviewer on the spot. Ka. Boom. Bonus.

Don’t forget your boss…

What's your management style and what are your expectations of the position you might not have already mentioned?

Four out of five people quit their jobs because of their boss. This is great question to make sure you’re in sync with his or her style, expectations, and so forth.

If you love this, hit it with a like, share, and comment. I always want to know what you’re thinking!

Make sure to check out my free LIVE webcast called 3 Keys to Ace Any Job Interview. It’ll teach you everything you need to know about how to answer and ask questions in a job interview plus attendees get a sweet, FREE eBook How to Interview the Employer: 75 Great Questions to Ask Before You Take Any Job. Don’t miss it!

Like this episode? Please share it via social media and review it on iTunes! I can keep this blog and all future podcasts and videos ad-free and sponsor-free ONLY because you share my work! Please share or subscribe to my podcast and YouTube channel too!

Want more advanced material? Join the milewalk Academy and grab some of the free offerings that support the instruction in this post!